And at her coughing fit’s crescendo she almost spat out the water she had been desperately guzzling. It was so shocking Chancellor Philip Hammond felt moved to sprint on stage and offer her a cough sweet.

The incident was only made worse when the PM ended her speech with the unexpectedly fitting: ‘The test of a leader is how you respond when tough times come to you.

‘When faced with challenge, if you emerge stronger. When confronted with adversity, if you find the will to pull through.’

Other slip-ups

Mrs May’s bad throat wasn’t the only thing that marred her keynote speech last year.

The stakes were high for the Prime Minister to cheer up her party after a disappointing general election but it seemed she only managed to cheer up those out to mock her.

She was interrupted early on her address by comedian Simon Brodkin – better known as Lee Nelson – handing her a P45.

‘It’s from Boris Johnson,’ the comedian told her.

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The Prime Minister attempted to take it all in her stride, saying: ‘I’ll tell you who I’d like to give a P45 to and that’s Jeremy Corbyn.’

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Brodkin was swiftly escorted out of the hall by security.

Then came more bad luck, as the longer her speech went on, the less her stage backdrop held it together.

Her voice started failing and it seemed the staging gave up too, with letters in the Conservative slogan ‘Building a country that works for everyone’ slowly falling to the floor.

But today, in one of the most important speeches of her political career, Theresa May will seek to rally her fractious party behind her by declaring that Britain’s post-Brexit future is ‘full of promise’.

The Prime Minister will make a direct appeal to mainstream Labour voters disillusioned by Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing agenda to switch to the ‘decent, moderate, patriotic’ Tories.

She will borrow the Labour leader’s ‘For the many, not the few’ slogan as she declares that Conservatives are ‘a party not for the few, not even for the many, but for everyone who is willing to work hard and do their best’.

And she will attempt to win over ‘blue collar’ Tories with a fuel duty freeze, saying she will carry the policy into its ninth year as it is vital for ‘hard-working families’ – not just for their pockets, but for their quality of life.

Theresa May making the finishing touches to her speech (Picture: Reuters)

It comes a day after staunch rival Boris Johnson gave a rousing speech in which he told her to ‘chuck Chequers’.

Observers will keep a close eye on whether Mrs May makes reference to her former foreign secretary or her previous calamitous performance.

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She has already said she has taken steps to ensure she speaks ‘strongly’ this time round.